A Compact Passive House That Hugs A Pepper Tree

The creation of Pepper Tree Passive Home by Alexander Symes Architect commenced a number of years in the past in collaboration with builder and shopper Adam Souter of Souter Created, who life on the residence with spouse Ame Rooke-Jones, and their a few youthful youngsters.

The family’s Wollongong home was fatigued and thermally inefficient, but functionally ample. As an alternative of paying out their spending budget on major upgrades to the existing home, they determined to develop a new, independent composition on the rear of the website to a Passive Dwelling typical.

‘This meant they would get the ideal amenity value for their finances with insignificant general performance primarily based updates to the current property which includes new insulation, cladding, repainting the concrete tiles a lighter colour to cut down heat attain, and a 12kW solar panel awning that delivers shade to the outdoor spaces in summertime,’ states Alexander Symes, director of Alexander Symes Architect.

After the preliminary principle was created, Adam began salvaging and storing landfill-bound resources from his other development assignments to ultimately use in his house. 

The resulting secondary dwelling requires the sort of an elevated U-formed building wrapping around an current 60-calendar year-previous tree. 

‘We made the decision at our preliminary conference that the pepper tree was part of the main id of the internet site and keeping it would be a fantastic profit to the ultimate end result, instead than just an additional box-shaped granny flat,’ says Alexander. 

Two cantilevered wings are clad with recycled shou sugi ban cladding, and each individual host a green roof mixing the making into the landscape.

Adam’s salvaged development resources were being utilised through the project, together with on the external staircase crafted utilizing the roof composition of a demolished Bondi house, contributing to its sustainable Passive Dwelling standard. 

The completed self-contained household involves one particular bedroom, a kitchen area, dwelling region, toilet, and a laundry across 60 sq. metres internally. The developing capabilities as an workplace for Adam’s developing corporation, which can alternatively be rented as short keep lodging.

In coming up with a secondary framework, Alexander Symes Architect have additional significantly necessary usable flooring house to a suburban web page without the need of overdeveloping or sacrificing its biophilic connection. This tactic presents a precedent for creating smaller, future proofed additions with out the enormous price of upgrading all present dwellings.